Jesus: The Guantanamo Years

Last night I saw Abie Philbin Bowman's one-man comedy show, Jesus: The Guantanamo Years.

"Jesus Christ (the original stand-up comedian) returns to earth for His long-awaited comeback tour. But He doesn't get past U.S. immigration, because He's a bearded, Middle-Eastern guy, prepared to die as a religious martyr, detained under the Patriot Act and sent to Guantanamo Bay. In His first one-man show for almost two millennia, Jesus talks candidly about His time in Guantanamo, His relationship with His Father, and His on-going legal battle with Monty Python’s Life of Brian."

In spite of the Boston Globe's review I enjoyed this show. The first part is purely about his return and stick to religious humor and some Monty Python riffs. He plays the character as representing the good parts of religion (love thy neighbor) and teaching it as comedy. The second part combines this humor with true details about life at Guantanamo. He points out many of the absudities ("where's bin Laden?", "Well I've been here for 2 years and I'm pretty sure he's not in my cell but I'd be glad to check again") but unlike the Daily Show he does get a bit preachy and apologizes for it several times. If you can deal with the irreverence I recommend it.

It was the last night of the run in Boston and he was headed back to Ireland (his visa had expired). The show was filmed and he mentioned the possibility of an iTunes download. So to those of you who miss seeing comedies with me, if you find a recording, you'll definitely hear my laughter. My first laugh-track.